As is well known to those skilled in the art, air cleaners are apparatuses which purify polluted air to change it into clean air. Typically, an air cleaner is installed in a room having a predetermined volume and functions to remove pollution substances and harmful bacteria from the air in the room and thus provide clean air.
According to the purification method used, such air cleaners are classified into filter type air cleaners, electrostatic precipitation air cleaners and anion generating air cleaners. The filter type air cleaners typically include several filters, such as a free filter (or a medium filter) for removing large particles, a HEPA filter for removing fine particles, and an active carbon filter for removing noxious gas and odor. Recently, in particular, water filters which remove pollution, such as dust or particulates, using the absorptive force of water, are also widely used. The electrostatic precipitation air cleaners collect dust and remove odors using a high voltage. The electrostatic precipitation air cleaners can effectively remove fine particles of dust as well as large particles of dust, thus creating a superior air cleaning effect. However, after a predetermined amount of dust is collected, dust may become undesirably separated from a dust collection plate. Therefore, the dust collection plate must be frequently cleaned and maintained. The anion generating air cleaners make use of the property of anions to bond noxious substances floating in the air.
Meanwhile, according to the installed orientation, air cleaners are classified into stand type air cleaners and table type air cleaners. The stand type air cleaners are placed upright on the ground. The table type air cleaners are horizontally placed on the ground such that covers disposed on the upper surfaces of the air cleaners can be used as tables.
FIG. 1 is a view showing the external shape of a typical air cleaner. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional air cleaner 1 includes a casing 2, which has a predetermined shape (typically, a rectangular parallelepiped shape). An inlet port 3 and an outlet port 4 are formed in the casing 2.
Furthermore, a fan (not shown) is typically installed in the casing 2 of the air cleaner 1. Air in a room is drawn into the casing 2 through the inlet port 3 by the operation of the fan (not shown). Thereafter, noxious substances are removed from air using one of the above-mentioned air cleaning methods. Cleaned air is subsequently discharged from the air cleaner 1 through the outlet port 4.
A manipulator 5 is provided on the casing 2 of the air cleaner 1 to manipulate and control the operation of the air cleaner 1.
In detail, the operations of turning on/off the air cleaner 1, cleaning intensity, cleaning operation duration, an air discharge direction, or a cleaning mode such as a sandy dust removing mode, a dehumidifying mode, a humidifying mode, are controlled using the manipulator 5.
However, the manipulator 5 of the conventional air cleaner 1 includes control buttons 6. To control the several functions of the air cleaner 1, the several control buttons 6 corresponding to the number of functions of the air cleaner 1 is required.
In particular, recently, as well as having the basic air cleaning function, the air cleaners are manufactured with a tendency to be able to conduct various air cleaning functions depending on conditions in rooms. Therefore, in response to this, the number of control buttons 6 must concomitantly be increased. In this case, the manipulator 5 occupies a relatively large area of the outer surface of the air cleaner 1, thus deteriorating the external appearance of the air cleaner 1.
In addition, when it is desired for a user to control the functions of the air cleaner 1, the user must check all control buttons 6 corresponding to the respective functions and thereafter push the desired button or buttons.
Moreover, with regard to an air cleaner which has an encoder unit and is convertible between a table type and a stand type, in the case where the air cleaner is used in the table type manner, the encoder unit may inconvenience the user, because the encoder unit protrudes from the outer surface of the air cleaner to allow the user to hold and rotate the encoder unit. As well, there is a problem in that water may enter the encoder unit, with the result that a printed circuit board (hereinafter, referred to in common as ‘PCB’) of the encoder unit is damaged by water. That is, in the case where the air cleaner is used in the table type manner, the cover provided on the upper surface of the air cleaner forms the upper surface of the table. Because the encoder unit is typically provided in the cover that forms the upper surface of the table, water may permeate the encoder unit. As a result, the PCB of the encoder unit may be damaged.